We’re getting fatter, but so is everyone else

The only thing that makes this statistic easier to stomach is that the news elsewhere is so much worse.

Speaking of stomachs: Hawaii’s are way bigger than they used to be, but because fatness has become such an American plague, this state has the fifth-lowest obesity rate in the country. In 1995, about 11-12 percent of the state’s people were obese, and now that has doubled to 23.1 percent.

The report, which comes from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says Hawaii may be helped by being one of 16 states with laws allowing roads to be safely accessed by cyclists and pedestrians. Our road safety activists could set the researchers straight on that.

Can Don Ho be saved?

At Don Ho’s Island Grill, it’s no longer "Tiny Bubbles" but rather, Tiny Troubles. Better make that Big Troubles, as in money woes, as in temporary closure.

A popular venue that launched in 1999 with the namesake iconic entertainer in the house, the Aloha Tower Marketplace restaurant has recently encountered payroll and other problems. An abrupt closure occurred this week, though its owner hopes to reopen for daily operations after August. Whether it does so under the Don Ho name is in question. So much for the song’s sentiments: "With a feeling that I’m gonna love you till the end of time."